The national economic data for November 2023 was released on the National Bureau of Statistics on the 15th of this month, with the title "The National Economy Continued to Pick Up and Improve in November".
The title of the article usually shows the core content of the article. Unlike many self-confessions, from the official point of view, it is clear that the economy continues to improve.
Specific to the major areas of economic development, the official description is as follows:
Production and supply have risen steadily, market demand has continued to improve, employment prices have been generally stable, people's livelihood has been effectively guaranteed, transformation and upgrading have been steadily promoted, and the economic recovery has continued to consolidate. ”
In the overall indicators of all major sectors (referring to agriculture, industry, services, domestic**, fixed asset investment, imports and exports, employment and prices), the development trend is positive.
Among the subdivided indicators, combined with the data of previous months, there are two indicators, which are new highs since 2019, and it is worth writing a special article for this.
These two indicators are distributed in the two major areas of domestic ** and employment, one is called the total retail sales of consumer goods, which is the most direct macroeconomic indicator reflecting the consumption power of residents, and the other is called the average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises across the country, which is one of the indicators of the unemployment rate.
In November 2023, the total retail sales of consumer goods in the country will be 425 trillion, the second highest since 2019 (excluding data for January and February of the calendar year), and the first high is 433 trillion.
In November 2023, the average weekly working hours of employees in enterprises across the country was 489 hours, a new high since 2019.
Since the beginning of this year, the authors, after referring to the data of working hours in various countries, believe that excessive working hours will have a negative impact on consumption.
However, judging from the limited data so far, it seems that residents' spending power is not affected by working hours.
From 2019 to 2021, consumption continued to grow that year, and a new high will occur in December. The new high of 2022, although also in December, saw a decline in consumption in November. October and November 2023 look the same as in 2022, with new highs likely to occur in December.
The average weekly working hours of enterprises have long exceeded the upper limit of 44 hours per week stipulated in the Labor Law, and since 2023, it has also exceeded the "de facto six days and eight hours" of 48 hours per week.
Considering that a large percentage of people work five days and eight hours or less, this means that a large percentage of people actually work 50 hours or more per week.
How many hours per week have you worked since 2023?